Cricket 1882

196 CEICKET; A WEEKLY RECORD OF THE GAME. a u g u s t 3, m 2 . C R I C K E T ! L A W N T E N N I S ! ! F O O T U A I J , !! First Prize Medal at Melbourne Exhibition, 1880. JAMES LILLYWHITE, FROWD & CO., Manufacturers of all articles used in the above and other Athletic Sports. Specialite for the highest class Goods. Bats specially seasoned for hot climates. Price Lists and all parti­ culars may be had post free. Shipperssuppliedat wholesale prices. J. L., P. and Co. are the sole Manufacturers of Frowd’s new patent “ Special Driver ” Bat, which drives better, jars less, and averages li ounces lighter than any other Bat; universally allowed to he the greatest improvement made in Bats since cane handles were introduced. Publishers of JAMES LILLY- WH ITE’S CRICKETER’S ANNUAL. Manufactory and Ware- h c n s e 4 and 6, Newington Causeway and 73 and 74, Borough Road, London. C E I G K B T . A .W e e k l y R e c o r d of t h e G am e THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 1882. “ C r i c k e t ” this week consists of sixteenpages awl a wrapper. This is the second enlargement since the institution of the paper. “ C r i c k ' 7 ' - ” can b e had at W. H. Smith & Son’s Book Stali3. T1!? first, second, and third numbers are out of pnnt. T H E A U S T R A L IA N C R IC K E T E R S . No. 14of “ C r i c k e t , ” to be published next Thurs­ day morning, will contain a portrait and biography of P. S. M‘Donnell, the Australian cricketer. Each following number will contain a portrait and biography of a member of the Australian Team. • > M ip g v 0 F v g U B S C l^ I P T J 0 N - * “ C r ic k e t ” is published at 17, Paternoster Square, London, E.G., and will be forwarded to any ad­ dress inOreat Britain, for the Season of 10 weeks, including pi esent issue, for 2/2 in time for first post on Thursday Morning. It is requested that Postal Orders (not Stamps) be sent for Sub­ scriptions and Scores. They can be made ~r.yable to W . R. W rig h t , at the head office, and crossed London and County, Holbom. ‘ ‘ C ricket ” is registered f o r transm ission abroad and can be sent, post free, at the regular newspaper rates o f postage to a n y p a rt o f the world. Reading Cases for holding four numbers of “ C ricket ” can now be had at the Office, price 2/-. TO AD VERTISERS. “ C r ic k e t ” presentsan unequalled medium,for announcements in connection with the game , as the circulation is already in advance of any newspaper of the kind. The scores of most of the principal Clubs will appear exclusively in its columns , and there is already a large number of subscribers , including most of the leading players of the day. “ C r ic k e t ” will be filed too for reference in the Pavilions of all the principal Clubs , and it will thusappeal directly to every class of cricketer. A limited number of high-class Advertisements will betaken on terms to be obtained of the Manager. For ordinary Advertisements the charge will be 31- an inch narrow column. UMPIRING A LA MODE. In theory an umpire is an individual gifted with a special knowledge of the game and all its intricacies. “ He is the sole judge of fair and unfair play.” This is his prerogative, and iudeed Rule 36 in the Laws of Cricket invests him with this andivided responsibility. In theory he is the embodiment of justice, the unbiassed administrator of the legal code of cricket. He is—still in theory— a man of vast experience, not only in the active practice of cricket, but in all the many technicalities to be found in its voca­ bulary. He is master of all the abstruse questions, well-versed in all the precedents essential to the education of a person specially appointed to adjudicate on points of difficulty, to decide matters mostly re­ quiring a prompt and fearless decision. An umpire in theory is an expert of special at­ tainments. But what is he in practice ? Certainly not as a rule selected with a sole view to the occupation of a post demanding something above the average mental ability of professional cricketers. Certainly not appointed on the ground of any particular fitness. He hasnotto pass an examination of the most elementary kind to prove a capacity for even an ordinarily intelligent reading of the law. As a rule he has greatness thrust on him. He umpires because umpiring is one of the perquisites attached to the position of a ground bowler if he be fortunate to be attached to a large club, rather than because he has shown himself fitted for the position. If he happen to be a county player it is assumed at once that he is possessed of the requisite know­ ledge to “ stand.” No one grumbles at his appointment till he has given some palpable proof that proficiency in batting or bowling does not necessarily produce a capable um­ pire. It cannot be too forcibly represented that the mere possession of a certain amount of physical skill required to bat or bowl well does not imply the mental gifts requisite for umpiring. Of late considerable discus­ sion has taken place on the important topic of the general fitness of umpires. A pro­ posal emanating from the Surrey Club to ensure the guarantee of impartial and com­ petent officials in all the more important matches was mooted at the last meeting of the County Secretaries. For various reasons the suggestion was not favourably received in some quarters, but we shall certainly be surprised if the scheme does not ulti­ mately meet with general acceptance. Our own experience shows how very imperfect is the knowledge of the rules possessed by the average umpire. He is imposing, no doubt, in his way, especially in the snow white coats which now form his robes of office at Lord’s and the Oval, but as an enlightened translator of the rules he is, speaking quite in a Pickwickian sense, a fraud. We hope that the time will soon come when an umpire will be obliged to prove his competency. It will be a golden age, perhaps, but there will come a period when it will be understood that he must be in every way free from interest, directly or indirectly, in either of the sides in a match. An umpire with the courage of his opinions might put a stop to some of th e 'abuses which have of late years crept into the practice of cricket. At present we can hardly expect such a prodigy. At the same time, though, we have a right to ask that he be not unmindful of the first principles of his craft. Only recently, in an important match, we noticed two separate cases in which a decision was given before it was invited. We cannot but think that the present system of umpiring is susceptible of great improvement. They are the abstracts and brief chronicles of our time.— Hamlet. A c o r r e sp o n d e n t who noticed Mr. A. J. Webbe’s successful bowling on Friday last for the Harrow Wanderers against Leeds Clarence— he took nine wickets for com* paratively few runs—has sent me the follow­ ing quotation from “ All’s Well that ends Well,” which he considers appropriate. “ The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.” Perhaps he will explain the joke. A c o n t r ib u t o r to the Nottingham Guardian calls attention to the extraordinary performance of Barlow in the two matches between Lancashire and Notts. “ A t Trent Bridge, at his first attempt, he was at the wickets one hour and twenty minutes for eight runs, and on the Saturday played the memorable innings of two hours and a half for five runs. At Liverpool, in the first innings, he carried out his bat, having been in two and a quarter hours, while in the second innings he was at the wickets alto­ gether not less than five and a quarter hours. The whole makes a total of ten hours and fifty minutes. Moreover, in the two matches he went to the wickets to batno fewer than ‘ ten’ times. In ten hours fifty minutes he only made just over 100 runs—or at the rate of less than 10 an hour.” By theway, the Saturday Review not inaptly designates Barlow the “ Fabius Cunctator of Cricket.” There is something very Fabian about Barlow’s policy with the bat. But writers should be careful how they trifle with the sensibilities of professional cricketers. I question much whether the Lancashire Stonewaller will appreciate the compliment or understand the force of the classical allusion. The “ pro. ” has his feel­ ings. I can remember well the resentment ex­ pressed by a left-handed trundler of Kent when a facetious reporter described him as a “ sinister bowler.” He took violent um­ brage at what he regarded as a reflection on his personal appearance. W hat is the precise market value of “ a bumper ?” The expression is so frequently to be met with in reports of benefit matches that I think it would be better if a definition were given of the exact amount in money it represents. The Sportsman of Monday says, alluding to Lockwood, that “ the worthy